Fottles, Fatwas and Free Speech

The Fascists of the Left (FOTLs, pronounced “Fottles” and spelled that way henceforth) have won. Free speech in New Zealand is dead. It has been throttled by Fottles.

Free speech’s strangulated status became obvious, if it were not already, when National Business Review cravenly capitulated to Fottles and removed Sir Bob Jones’ most recent column from its website. That was the column in which he proposed replacing Waitangi Day with Maori Gratitude Day:

I have in mind a public holiday where Maoris bring us breakfast in bed or weed our gardens, wash & polish our cars & so on, out of gratitude for existing.

It didn’t help when Bob protested that any fool could tell his piece was a “piss-take”—he’d clearly forgotten that Fottles are as dumb as they are humourless and as humourless as they are evil.

The Fottles were frenetic in the lead-up to NBR’s surrender. One, Mullah Marvelly, issued a Fatwa via Twit-Witter:

I couldn’t be more disappointed in the NBR for publishing this. If you subscribe, feel free to voice your repulsion with cancelled subscriptions.

Then a second Fatwa was launched in the form of a petition seeking to strip Sir Bob of his knighthood. Its instigator was a Fottle film-maker who speaks in that execrable fry-quack now universal among female moronnials. She squawked:

There is public support for this, somebody can't get away with hate speech like that and not be held to account. When something like this comes out I think it's important we stand our ground, to say actually that's not okay and we don't accept this type of racist rant as a reflection of who we are as a country.

Note how Fottles love to dictate what is and is not OK (most things are not OK in their neo-Puritan manual, which I assume Fottle Justin Trudeau has renamed “humanual”) and “who we are as a country.” It’s what Fascists do. Having no lives themselves, they clamour to run everybody else’s.

The Fottle film-maker was right, alas, about public support. Within minutes of this putrid petition’s going online it had garnered thousands of signatures. A counter-petition urging Sir Bob’s elevation to the House of Lords “for services to honesty, liberty and not being so bloody precious” struggled to muster one thousand over two weeks. (Count at time of writing: 1500 vs 58,000 for the Fatwa).

A seemingly disparate development coincided with the Jones brouhaha. The High Court rejected an appeal by Louisa Wall, Labour MP for Manurewa, against an earlier finding by the Human Rights Tribunal that two cartoons by Al Nisbet, published by Fairfax, about a new taxpayer-funded Free Food for Schools programme were in breach of Section 61 of the Human Rights Act. S61 makes it an imprisonable offence

“to publish or distribute written matter which is threatening, abusive, or insulting, or to broadcast by means of radio or television or other electronic communication words which are threatening, abusive, or insulting … being matter or words likely to excite hostility against or bring into contempt any group of persons in or who may be coming to New Zealand on the ground of the colour, race, or ethnic or national origins of that group of persons.”

One of the cartoons depicted a group of dark-skinned adults, dressed as children, eating breakfast at school and saying, "Psst . . . If we can get away with this, the more cash left for booze, smokes and pokies." The other showed a dark-skinned family sitting around a table littered with Lotto tickets, alcohol and cigarettes and saying, "Free school food is great! Eases our poverty and puts something in you kids' bellies."

The High Court ruled that while the cartoons were undeniably insulting, they were not in breach of the law.

Well then, you might exult, doesn’t this show that free speech is alive and well, that the Fottles haven’t won after all?

Alas, no. First, a reading of the findings makes it clear that the High Court panel, and before them the Tribunal, were bending over backwards to avoid conflating “insulting” (legal) with “likely to excite hostility and bring into contempt …” (illegal) and repaired to the most tortuous splitting of hairs in the process. Had they ruled the other way and upheld Louisa Wall's appeal, no comparable hair-splitting would be required to argue they were upholding s61 as stated. Just read it! And it’s s61 as stated that is the problem! That law shouldn’t be there. It’s not the government’s role to police its citizens’ opinions.

Second, here’s how the High Court concluded its findings:

We dismiss the appeal.

In so doing, however, we consider it timely to repeat the observations of Thomas J in Awa v Independent News Auckland Ltd that:

'The law’s limits do not define community standards or civic responsibility. I would be disappointed if anything which this Court might say could be taken as indicative of what people of one race may feel at liberty to say and which people of the other are expected to brook.'

The unanimous view of both the Tribunal and this Panel’s members that the cartoons were objectively offensive should in our view be a cause for reflection by the respondents and their respective editorial teams.

Therein, ladies and gentlemen, lies the Fottles’ victory. The chilling effect of a High Court injunction to “reflect” on the publication of “objectively offensive” material—in an environment where a generation of moronnials is programmed to take offence at everything and make all of life a “safe space,” “journalists” are all pseudo-credentials and no brains, and the populace at large is all group-think and no guts—this is all that is needed to finish free speech off altogether.

There’ll be no more Al Nisbet cartoons, “having a crack at all sides, tickling, provoking, firing debate, pushing the envelope as far as it can go to get a reaction” [his words].

There’ll be no more scathing satire from Bob Jones—the NBR had already showed the way in “reflecting” on “objectively offensive” material. (Update: Bob is now writing for the estimable Whale Oil blog, which will surely be in the Fottles' sights now more than ever.)

There’ll be no more editorials like the one The Dominion Post published some years ago about murderous Muslims rampaging against those Danish cartoons:

Modern society rests on the contest of ideas, the ability to question perceived wisdom and to challenge authority. Without that contest, and without the right to free speech that makes it possible, societies stultify and become entrenched in their beliefs. That freedom to question and to challenge must include the right to be offensive, to affront people’s most heartfelt beliefs, even to disparage that which they hold sacred. Otherwise it is an empty freedom. … There have been earlier cultural confrontations between the West and a resurgent Islam, beginning with the death sentence pronounced in 1989 on author Salmon Rushdie for The Satanic Verses, and including the murder in 2004 of Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh after he made a film dealing with violence against Islamic women. They are confrontations the West cannot afford to lose. The right to freedom of speech is a precious one that must be defended.

Third, our totalitarian Race Relations Commissioner, Fottle Devoy—who dismisses anything she disapproves of as “stale, male and white” (hate speech?!)—is campaigning to make existing legislation more draconian. Not for her, “I disagree with what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it”; rather, “I disagree with what you say and will have you thrown in jail for it.” In her own words:

I believe online hatred is something we can get better at calling out. I believe we need better restrictions when it comes to the online forums, comments sections on some media outlet websites as well as their social media accounts. I am keen to see our Police begin to gather hate crime statistics – at the present time this is not something they collate when responding to call outs.

Devoy will use the High Court’s failure to find against Fairfax and Nisbett as Exhibit A in her diabolical campaign to give the law more teeth!

In this she gets her riding instructions from the UN's International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) which enjoins its signatories to “declare an offence punishable by law all dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, incitement to racial discrimination …” Britain, once a bulwark of free speech, has gone down this route, and now jails people for their opinions. It’s where Devoy wishes to take us. She was at an ICERD gathering in Geneva at our expense last year, assuring her fellow-Fottles that her jackboots were as spiked as theirs.

In a previous article, Devoy vs Voltaire, I wrote:

If we are to reinstate and retain freedom of speech in the face of Devoy’s upcoming onslaught, here’s what must happen:

1) Salman Rushdie’s famous dictum, “There is no such thing as a right not to be offended” must be emblazoned across the sky.

2) So too must “I disapprove of what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it.” The counter to bad ideas is good ideas, and the free exchange thereof.

3) Dame Susan must be abolished—i.e., the office of Race Relations Commissar must be disestablished.

4) Article 4 of the Bill of Rights, rendering the Bill a sham, must be repealed.

5) The Human Rights Act must be repealed [and the Human Rights Commissariat, now hilariously embroiled in a groping scandal, disestablished].

In her former life, Susan Devoy was a champion exponent of a noble sport. From the ignoble contest in which she is now engaged, freedom-lovers must ensure that Voltaire emerges the winner.

These imperatives are more urgent than ever. If the next leader of the National Party has any balls (unlikely) he or she will mobilise them and send them into battle. Article 4 of the Bill of Rights says all the other Articles in the Bill can be negated by other legislation. Article 4 is what allows s61 of the Human Rights Act to override Article 14 of the Bill of Rights, which says:

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form.

In addition to the repeal of Article 4, would-be free speech resurrectionists should require the co-emblazoning across the sky of Article 14 with the Voltaire and Rushdie quotes. Along with one more, from “stale, male and white” John Stuart Mill’s classic essay, On Liberty. I recommend humans acquire it before the anti- and sub-human Fottles stage public burnings of it. This addresses the question of whether free speech may extend only to those whose opinions are uncontroversial and innocuous:

Strange it is, that men should admit the validity of the arguments for free discussion, but object to their being “pushed to an extreme”; not seeing that unless the reasons are good for an extreme case, they are not good for any case.

This is wisdom for the ages, gold for the moment—and the end for the Fottles.

White people are pathetic. They deserve to be taken advantage of by blacks. Yes, they're somewhat noble too. But mostly, whites seem like pathetic losers who deserve to suffer at the hands of cheap grifters and poor hustlers, until they gain some self-esteem and learn to display some self-respect.

We know of course that CNN is a major hub of The Filth, but Chris Cuomo arguably is the filthiest front man of all.

I just posted:

Lindsay Perigo

1 second ago

Cuomo has to rank as one of the most obnoxious, self-important, unprofessional TV anchors ever. CNN is now stacked with Far-Left bloviators such as he, but he is the most insufferable in his smarmy arrogance. Stelter, Lemon and Cooper are close seconds. There was a time when CNN was indeed a "trusted name in news," but it's now quite brazenly a media arm of the Democratic Party. No wonder its ratings are below the radar.﻿

Magician and atheist James Randi, who came out as gay at age 81, often mentioned Sophia Loren in glowing terms in his acts. People became curious and inquired, "Well, you keep on talking about Sophia Loren," to which he replied, "Yes. You see, I'm gay, but I'm not blind."

I always think of this contrast every time Linz mentions the ugly wimmin of this world.

According to Crooked Comey himself, James Comey's wife and daughters desperately wanted Hillary to win, and took part in the Ugly Wimmin's March the day after Trump's inauguration. Wotta shock. Of course, there's no connection between this and the non-prosecution of Crooked Hillary.

Did Trump arrive in time to thwart the advocates for Americistan? Touch and go. Not helped by ARISIS.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced a crackdown on knives Sunday in response to the rising levels of violence in London, which recently surpassed New York City's homicide rate for the first time.

"No excuses: there is never a reason to carry a knife," Khan tweeted. "Anyone who does will be caught, and they will feel the full force of the law."

There have been more than 50 homicides in London so far in 2018, and much of the violence is tied to gangs.

Guns are strictly regulated in the United Kingdom and the rising homicide rate in London is directly attributable to a rise in knife-related crimes, with stabbings claiming at least 31 lives to date in 2018. By contrast, New York — which has a population roughly the same size as London — has seen a steady decline in violent crime. ...

In February, the mayor launched a $63 million program to help keep young Londoners from "getting caught up in crime" and the Mayor's office has launched a "London Needs You Alive: Don't Carry a Knife" awareness campaign targeted at the city's teens.

It targets social media based in California. But as you read the bill, you see it appears to define social media as any Internet blog, website, or communication.

SB1424 is brief. Read it:

This bill would require any person who operates a social media, as defined, Internet Web site with a physical presence in California to develop a strategic plan to verify news stories shared on its Web site. The bill would require the plan to include, among other things, a plan to mitigate the spread of false information through news stories, the utilization of fact-checkers to verify news stories, providing outreach to social media users, and placing a warning on a news story containing false information.

(a) Any person who operates a social media Internet Web site with physical presence in California shall develop a strategic plan to verify news stories shared on its Internet Web site.

(b) The strategic plan shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(1) A plan to mitigate the spread of false information through news stories.

(c) As used in this section, “social media” means an electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but not limited to, videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email, online services or accounts, or Internet Web site profiles or locations.

Funny, this creature, whom I interviewed many times but had happily forgotten about, wouldn't dream of banning Muslims from coming here, yet they are every bit as "homophobic" as this Christian rugby player.

Nothing is sacrosanct. Ugly Wimmin are muscling in on everything, including, in New Zealand, rugby and cricket commentary, with their repulsive fry-quacking. Britonistan, meanwhile, clearly faces a conundrum: Misogynist Muslims and Ugly Wimmin have taken over simultaneously. Who will prevail?

"I believe it's a mistake to ascribe good faith to Bwook, Ghastly and the others. Alyosha, while frustratingly indecisive and anaemic, is not consciously an agent of Satan. (Of course, though, since his blood doesn't boil, he is a waste of space!) These guys are, and they're currently doubling down on it."

Heh...well, that's why I did say, they were intellectually paralyzed, "at best" (and their "best" just isn't good enough). And that's only based on Rand's statement of "the only action I recommend is intellectual action." (Hence, the comparison to Aloysha.)

That said...yeah, the extension of good faith can only go so far, and the farther away from the original "Collective", it becomes non-existent. And yeah, that would be an jaw-dropping memo, I'm sure..."Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out."

When Obama was elected, Yaron Brook said something to the effect of, "Now is not the time to shrug, it's time to FIGHT!" What fight has been undertaken? What are they risking? Are they resisting, or are they capitulating? I think they've possibly been paralyzed by too much ivory-tower abstraction, at best, thinking themselves into paralysis

I believe it's a mistake to ascribe good faith to Bwook, Ghastly and the others. Alyosha, while frustratingly indecisive and anaemic, is not consciously an agent of Satan. (Of course, though, since his blood doesn't boil, he is a waste of space!) These guys are, and they're currently doubling down on it.

Remember that at the last election Bwook avowed that a vote for Hillary was merely a vote for the Obama status quo, and that was preferable to "the villain of our time" Trump. The only "fighting" ARISIS have done since Obama's election has been on Obama's behalf. This is conscious, willful evil. What I'd be curious to find out is exactly when the memo went out that henceforth ARI would go Left/Politically Correct, and promote Obleftivism. Was it just a logical extension of the original Peikoff fatwa? Certainly, as Bruno has observed, Peikoff has been useless in resisting Obleftivism.

Patriots mustn't forget that America was the result of armed revolt, and that "the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of tyrants and martyrs." The Filth are not hesitating to use violence, to initiate force, in their quest to destroy liberty (meaning, in this context, to bring down Trump). Patriots mustn't hesitate to retaliate.

Q: "You've argued that government spending must be curbed. What tactics should we adopt to bring this about?"

AR: "There's only so much one person can do. I've given you the strategy; don't expect me to mount the barricades and lead an army on Washington. Besides, it's much too soon for that. What can you do? If everyone in this room seriously understood the problem, advocated the right measures, spoke to his neighbors, and above all, wrote to his congressman and senators, you could save the country. People in Washington take their mail seriously, they count noses. You must drown them in mail before they'll listen to you. But if you can state yoru case simply, briefly, and intelligently, you'll have a huge influence. That's the only action I can suggest today, because the only action I recommend is intellectual action." [FHF 74] Ayn Rand Answers- The Best of Her Q&A

Well, then, that was all and good for her time, I guess. But would she change her suggestion, today, were she alive? If not... "For all he's really worth to Objectivism today, That Woman might as well never have devoted a single line to Ragnar Danneskjold."

Tommy Robinson will lead a march to Twitter’s UK head office to protest against his account being suspended for violating the social media giants rules against “hateful conduct”, he confirmed in an explosive video last night.

The citizen journalist and anti-Islam activist will march for just over a mile from Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park through Mayfair to Twitter’s main UK base in Soho on Sunday 6th May. And he asked his loyal supporters to join him on the rally after stating “what we are seeing is blasphemy laws by the backdoor” adding “there is no seven-day ban or state censorship that can change 1,400 years of documented history”.

Robinson was quick to point out that the ‘offending’ tweet made reference to the ideology of Islam rather than individual Muslims who can interpret that ideology differently.

“They are all complicit. Twitter, our police, our courts, our Prime Minister, our entire government and media – all of them raise one hand in support of freedom of speech while they rip it out from under us with the other. You are being lied to – we all are. There is a concerted effort to suppress free speech in the UK.

“And Twitter, Facebook, our police, our government, our media – they’re all in on it. This is an eco-system – my tweet was not hateful conduct, but Twitter uses that excuse knowing full well that the media will run with it. Spreading the lie and empowering our corrupt and pandering political establishment to demonise and criminalise criticism of Islam.”

Robinson also highlighted the hypocrisy of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood – all of them proscribed terrorist organisations – still having a voice of the social media platform while his account with more than 400,000 followers was targeted.

He finished the three-minute video with a rallying cry, urging supporters: “For anyone who cares for freedom of speech, will you join me on the 6th May?”

Earlier Robinson had sent AltNewsMedia exclusive screenshots (above) showing Twitter warning him not to attempt to evade a permanent suspension by creating new accounts.

To view the full video, which received 20,000 views within the first hour, please visit this page.

In ESSAYS ON AYN RAND'S ATLAS SHRUGGED, Andrew Bernstein writes about the character of Aloysha in THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV:

"Aloysha, although kindly, is far too passive in his attempt to prevent the crime. he is certain disaster is coming, but when he fails to convince Ivan to stay, he dos not leave the monastery to himself reside at the father's home, thereby providing the murderer a clear shot at his intended victim. His lack of protective action at the decisive moment may indicate that he, too, like Ivan, at the subconscious level, desire to be rid of the despicable old man. He us certainly not prepared to go the distance in preventing the crime..."

I'm been thinking of OrgOism as "Aloysha"-like for some time, now...anemic, paralyzed by philosophy into not taking a stronger stance, leaving it to others to get their "hands dirty" with practical matters of resisting an oncoming dictatorship, (while, at the same time, urging others NOT to take a stand, constantly reminding us that "it's earlier than you think"...)

"For all he's really worth to Objectivism today, That Woman might as well never have devoted a single line to Ragnar Danneskjold."

"There are four characteristics which brand a country unmistakably as a dictatorship: one-party rule—executions without trial or with a mock trial, for political offenses—the nationalization or expropriation of private property—and censorship. A country guilty of these outrages forfeits any moral prerogatives, any claim to national rights or sovereignty, and becomes an outlaw."

The Virtue of Selfishness

“Collectivized ‘Rights,’”
The Virtue of Selfishness, 105

Europe is just about there; the US is right on its heels...how close to the edge of dictatorship do we have to get before OrgOism says "enough's enough!"? To see how dictatorship is not barging through the front door, but sneaking in the back? Turning up the hot water, slowly, so the frogs don't jump out before they boil? Do all the boxes have to be ticked off in some right order, at the right time, at the right place, where the moon is in the seventh house, and the dollar sign aligns with the railroad tracks leading to Galt's Gulch, or something?

I've said that someone like Jordan Peterson is philosophically not the right person to carry out a major evolution...but then, he's out there on the front lines, along with Tommy Robinson, and the like, who are risking their careers, money, families, and lives...while the people who ARE carrying the supposed superior philosophical banner (ARI) are doing...what, exactly? Spreading educational materials in schools in a "reverse Gramsci" attempt? How's that working out for ya? Millennials would rather live in socialist or communist nation than under capitalism: Poll

When Obama was elected, Yaron Brook said something to the effect of, "Now is not the time to shrug, it's time to FIGHT!" What fight has been undertaken? What are they risking? Are they resisting, or are they capitulating?

I think they've possibly been paralyzed by too much ivory-tower abstraction, at best, thinking themselves into paralysis, while the less philosophically inclined out there are less ruled by abstraction and are more driven by "animal/
instinctual" self-preservation. Or, in the case of the more religious-oriented people, are driven by a "god-given purpose." (Which, as an atheist, I might now share, but I can understand, at least.) Whatever it is, it's something I see missing in OrgOism.

As someone once commented, "For all he's really worth to Objectivism today, That Woman might as well never have devoted a single line to Ragnar Danneskjold."

I saw this tweet when it first posted...wasn't expecting that from him, but given the content of his talks, I really shouldn't have been surprised. And given the nature of his critics, and the left, today, it's not undeserved.

Watching that video by Milo gives me absolute hope! People like Laura Southern, Stefan Molyneux, Peter Schiff, Pamela Geller, Jordan Peterson, Milo, etc. are so intellectually weak and compromised relative to the thirty-year rising phenomenon of pure liberalism. And yet...they're cultural warriors. They're neoliberals or new liberals or new and improved Western liberals (whichever term you prefer). And their ideas are ascending.

Despite their frequent incoherence and contradictions, they're all vigorous fighters for what's right, who transcend the right/left political and philosophical spectrum. They're doing good even when they don't know they're doing good. Even when they formally oppose it. Even when they explicitly reject liberalism. Humankind is rising thru them.

We Objectivist and libertarian types just have to get the philosophy right. That way these cultural warriors can become intellectually cleaner, finer, purer, and stronger year after year.

"There are four characteristics which brand a country unmistakably as a dictatorship: one-party rule—executions without trial or with a mock trial, for political offenses—the nationalization or expropriation of private property—and censorship.-Ayn Rand, “Collectivized Rights"

Does anyone remember the film THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT? Wasn't that a lefty favorite, at the time, regarding free speech? What happened to THAT version of the left?

"I'm not trying to convince you that you should like what Larry Flynt does. I don't like what he does. But what I do like is that I live in a country where you and I can make that decision for ourselves." -The People Vs. Larry Flynt

The right to free speech is infinite. Deeds can be punished by law -- not words. It's not possible to initiate violence against another with mere words. So laws can't rightfully stop them. This government-initiated violence against some mere speakers is surreal and truly depressing. Everyone in Britain who supports this outrage needs to be deported to North Korea.

Sellner and Pettibone arrived in Britain at Luton airport at 1 pm and were told they were being detained because of the planned speech, with authorities claiming Sellner represented, “a far-right group and intend[s] to incite racial hatred.”

The pair were then moved to Heathrow airport at 1 am where they were both placed in detention, along with other foreign nationals waiting to be deported.

Originally, the Identitarian leader was scheduled to speak at a conference organised by UKIP youth wing Young Independence, but this was shut down due to alleged far-left extremist threats.

Sellner’s speech, reorganised for Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park, which was set aside for free speech by an Act of Parliament in 1872, was on the subject of “threats to Free Speech in the modern world.”

Breitbart London spoke to both Sellner and Pettibone, who said they were being held in separate detention centres. Pettibone alleged that border officials told her that one of the reasons for her detainment was not only because of Sellner’s speech but also her plans to interview former English Defence League leader turned citizen journalist Tommy Robinson.

In the realm of Gov't, you can either have slander laws or freedom of speech laws. You can't have both. The Individual is either free to criticize, denigrate, and insult someone or something, or he isn't. You can't have it both ways. People who defend slander laws are defending Thought Crime laws.

Belgium has a law criminalising sexist speech in public. It has just come to light that a man was charged and found guilty under this law last November. He apparently had told a woman cop who was booking him for jay-walking to get a job suitable for women. The man's name has not been released, but he's black. Black in Belgium probably means he's Muslim. Oh dear.

BRUSSELS — For the first time, a Belgian criminal court has convicted a man of “sexism in the public space,” for verbally abusing a female police officer who tried to question him after he was seen jaywalking.

The man, whose name was not disclosed, was convicted of sexism, slander and threatening a police officer, and fined 3,000 euros, or $3,725. He did not appear in court, and he can appeal the conviction, but failure to pay the fine could land him in prison, officials said.

“Shut your mouth, I don’t talk to women, being a police officer is not a job for women,” the man told the female police officer during the arrest, according to Gilles Blondeau, a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office. The officer arrested him and filed charges.

The verdict was the first conviction under a Belgian law criminalizing sexism in a public place. The sexism law was passed in 2014 as an amendment to an earlier law condemning discrimination in general.

The Belgian Parliament passed the law after a public outcry over a documentary called “Femme de la rue,” or “Woman of the Street,” which exposed the abuse that women faced on a daily basis in Brussels.

Sexism, according to the law, is defined as “every gesture or deed” that is “clearly meant to express contempt of a person based on sex,” or considers a person inferior based on sex, or reduces a person solely to a sexual dimension, and which “gravely affects the dignity of that person as a result.” Violation of the law can lead to a prison sentence of up to one year and a fine of up to €10,000.

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The conviction took place in November, and went almost entirely unnoticed until a legal magazine reported on it recently. In an atmosphere charged by the #MeToo movement, the verdict has now drawn extensive coverage in Belgium.

On June 6, 2016, a police officer on a routine patrol saw the defendant, who was then 23, cross a street against a traffic light in Zaventem, a town outside Brussels, according to court documents. When the officer tried to stop him for questioning, he fled and officers chased him on foot, finally catching him in the middle of a local annual fair.

Although several police officers were present, the man only insulted the female officer. “The case was easy to prosecute,” said Mr. Blondeau, as the arrest and the abuses happened in a very public space “with several bystanders serving as witnesses.”

During the arrest, the man claimed to be the victim of discrimination “because of his dark skin color,” Mr. Blondeau said.

Hard to believe modern Britain jails people for thinking and speaking freely. As usual, the only "crime" here is telling the truth. But even if the Britain First guys were spewing pure lies they would have that right. The undeniable fact is that under Natural Law and the Rights of Man, people may think and say ANYTHING they wish or choose, no matter how false and evil, and and no matter how morally low the speaker/writer is and how maliciously motivated.

This horrific incident shows the power of philosophy. Somehow the fatuous British authorities, based on their best philosophical thinking, believe that preventing "religiously aggravated harassment" trumps free speech rights. It's worth noting that Ayn Rand herself evidently believed in slander and defamation of character laws, which, of course, are tyrannical and anti-free speech.

The leaders of the far-right group Britain First have been jailed for a series of hate crimes against Muslims.

The group’s leader, Paul Golding, was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, while deputy, Jayda Fransen, was sentenced to 36 weeks on Wednesday. They had each been found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment at Folkestone magistrate’s court earlier the same day.

“These defendants were not merely exercising their right to free speech but were instead aiming religiously aggravated abuse at innocent members of the public,” the prosecutor told the court.

They were both arrested in May last year as part of an investigation into the distribution of leaflets and online videos posted during a trial at Canterbury crown court in the same month.

Three Muslim men and a teenager were convicted of rape and jailed as a result of those proceedings.

On Wednesday, the judge Justin Barron said Golding and Fransen’s words and actions “demonstrated hostility” towards Muslims and the Muslim faith.

... this is the state of things in the world. Not just we, but all of the earth are in trouble on this. Terminal trouble. The Filth are writ large every which way. Here in NZ The Filth have me blacklisted for saying these things. The Filth includes entities supposed to be on our side. Go figure.

Free speech is dead. Fottle Devoy will come after this site soon enough.

Bob Jones wants to sue the Fottle who launched the petition against him. That's not the way to go. The way to go is all the steps I listed here. People have to concentrate for long enough to absorb them. Five minutes max, probably, but a yoooooge challenge in this day and age. To absorb, then to act. Ay, there's the rub.

Fottles are beyond disgusting, in every respect. They have no idea what freedom of speech actually means - and don't care to. It' s freedom of speech which threatens their little causes and hurty feelings. We're really in trouble on this.

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The opinions expressed here are the unmoderated views of the contributors who express them.They do not necessarily reflect the views of other contributors, or of SOLO, and do not necessarily align with Objectivism.